Last season, the NBA had its dream Finals matchup return to the spotlight when the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers came together for the first time since 1987. Back in November, the stars seemed to be aligned for a repeat performance (the first time since 1986-1987). However, Monday night, that dream took a turn for the worse.
Most of the players stayed the same for both teams heading into this season. Unfortunately for the Celts, that lineup changed early into 2009. Kevin Garnett's knee injury in mid-February affected the entire dynamic of the Eastern Conference picture. This slowly began to catch up with the Celtics as they barely held on to the second seed in the pecking order.
That loss in the roster drew neck-and-neck with Boston as they were driven to the edge of the cliff, thanks to the young and talented Chicago Bulls. Seven games (and combined overtime periods) later, the Orlando Magic have swooped in to take the Bulls' place. Dwight Howard controlled the middle and the Magic's perimeter game was on for around three-quarters of the game as they held on to steal home-court advantage.
To me, this is a sign that the ghosts of the parquet floor aren't holding the same effect over their opponents this season as they have in years past. And even with Orlando's ability to throw big leads out the door, I believe the Green Machine stops here in '09.
The more interesting story may develop out west. In a highly competitive and very muddled conference, the Lakers reigned supreme. While seeds two through seven were fighting for positioning, L.A. sat comfortably on number one for the last three weeks of the season. Everything was set up for them to return to the Finals.
Yao Ming and Houston, who couldn't get out of the first round of the playoffs for the last few years, finally got over that hump by beating Portland. But they weren't expected to ultimately hold up to a Lakers team that swept them over the regular season and pulled away late in each game. Monday was different.
With the game still in the balance late into the fourth, the Rockets didn't crumble, outscoring L.A. by five in the final stanza. Houston got the first shot in on Kobe's bunch and now has them in a desperate situation for game two. Most importantly, doubt might have crept into the minds of Laker Nation. What if the Lakers can't hold down Yao? What if Ron Artest and Shane Battier can do enough to keep Kobe Bryant from dominating the series? What if Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom don't contribute enough on the scoreboard?
And what if Orlando and Houston move on to the Conference Finals? Is this good for the NBA? Is this what the league wants to throw out to the world as a marketing campaign? Truthfully, I don't think so.
As much as I would like to see Howard and Ming continue their seasons, you can't believe that David Stern is hoping for this. Even if the commish can't get a repeat of Lakers/Celtics, he could get the matchup even more fans have expected throughout this season: Kobe vs. LeBron James. I'm pretty certain that Stern isn't expecting to get the "amazing" out from Howard vs. Yao, LeBron vs. Yao, or LeBron vs. Carmelo Anthony. (We've already seen the show where LeBron got whipped by Timmy D and San Antonio.)
Of course, Celtic Pride will make an appearance in the next six games. Of course, Kobe's bunch is possibly the most talented in the league. But after Monday, the two most dominant big men in the Association had their say. It was loud, it was strong, and, for the moment, it took everything off-course.
Leave a Comment